As restaurants and bars continue struggling financially amidst the ongoing health crisis, diners continue seeking ways to help support their favorite Atlanta establishments beyond simply ordering a meal. From service industry-driven financial aid organizations to merchandise and local shopping, here are several options meant to support Atlanta’s restaurants, bars, food producers, and food justice organizations.
Call Your Local and State Representatives
Call your local and state representatives and implore them to seek measures to provide financial assistance and relief for Atlanta’s and Georgia’s restaurant industry. Or, urge the Federal government and Congress to pass a new version of the HEROES Act — a $2.2 trillion proposal providing another round of stimulus checks, unemployment benefits, and $120 billion in grants for restaurants, bars, and food trucks.
Support the efforts of organizations like the Independent Restaurant Coalition and the National Restaurant Association in providing a national restaurant industry recovery plan.
Giving Kitchen
Giving Kitchen provides financial aid to Georgia restaurant workers facing financial hardships or a health crisis. Set up a one-time or recurring donation.
WeLoveBuHi
The work done by nonprofit community activist organization WeLoveBuHi for the communities, businesses, and restaurants up and down the Buford Highway corridor is invaluable. Throughout the pandemic, the organization and its staff, volunteers, and donors helped feed 52,000 people, distributed free masks, hosted voter drives ahead of the election, and continues to promote the corridor’s restaurants and businesses by highlighting owners and their stories on social media. Become a member or consider setting up a recurring donation.
Pinky Cole Foundation
The success of Aisha “Pinky” Cole’s burgeoning vegan restaurant empire in Atlanta prompted her to found the Pinky Cole Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on empowering Black entrepreneurship and providing financial and other assistance to small businesses in the community. The foundation offers several ways to get involved, including donating one’s time, professional skills, and money.
Atlanta Community Food Bank
Donate funds or food to Atlanta Community Food Bank. ACFB works with 600 nonprofits to provide over 60 million meals a year to people throughout Atlanta and north Georgia.
Community Fridge
Atlanta entrepreneur and activist Latisha Springer launched the grassroots mutual aid organization Free99Fridge this summer to help combat food insecurity in some of the most vulnerable populations living within the city’s rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods. Access to healthy food is a growing problem in America, especially in recent months with more people finding themselves unemployed due to the ongoing health crisis. There are now several community fridges in neighborhoods throughout Atlanta with more in the works. Click here for fridge locations, to sign up to volunteer, contribute financially, contribute food to a fridge, or learn more about sponsoring a community fridge.
Gift Cards
Most restaurants include the option to purchase gift cards online for future visits. Some are offering discounted cards or even providing a little extra cash on those cards as incentives right now. Check restaurant and bar websites and social media pages for details on how to purchase a gift card. Here’s a great crowdsourced list of gift cards.
Restaurant Merch
Some Atlanta restaurants are all about the swag and include tee shirts, sweatshirts, ball caps, coffee mugs, cookbooks, and pantry staples in new online stores. Be sure to check the websites and social media pages of a favorite restaurant or bar for details on how to purchase merch.
Donate to Restaurant Staff Fundraisers
Staff fundraisers are now a sad reality as the pandemic drags on and a federal bailout plan for small businesses stalls in Congress. Donating to a staff fundraiser through GoFundMe, Paypal, or Venmo is an option. Here’s a searchable database called Relief Atlanta, created by former Atlanta resident Adam Darby. It lists bar and restaurant fundraisers with links to donation pages.
Upcoming restaurants are also in need of funding, as loans are harder to come by due to the financial crisis resulting from the pandemic.
There are also larger, community-wide efforts in place now, like #ATLFAMILYMEAL — a nonprofit group providing free meal deliveries to unemployed restaurant workers throughout Atlanta and the metro area.
Virtual Tip Jars
Sip cocktails at home, tip an Atlanta bartender. TIPSYATL allows people to send a digital tip to bartenders and servers who are currently out of work throughout metro Atlanta.
Shop Locally
Like the restaurants they provide meat and produce to, Georgia farmers are also hurting. Consider joining a CSA for home delivery or donate to Georgia Organics’ emergency relief fund benefiting farmers affected by COVID-19. Try shopping at farmers markets, buying direct from farms for home delivery or pickup, or purchasing household supplies and food from a local neighborhood market or family grocer rather than big box chains like Kroger and Publix.
For small businesses struggling to survive the financial hardships brought on by the health crisis, shopping locally for the holidays this year has never been more critical. Consider purchasing from local restaurants and food producers. Many establishments offer delivery and even nationwide shipping.
Join a Local Bread Subscription
Several local bakers around Atlanta offer weekly or monthly bread subscriptions for curbside pick-up or home delivery. There’s Osono Bread, Sarah Dodge’s Bread is Good, and a monthly bread subscription from Ponce City Market-based Root Baking Co.
While the fundraisers and payment apps listed have been shared by official social media pages or known representatives of respective restaurants, Eater cannot guarantee each restaurant will use the money as they say they will.
Know of a local Atlanta fundraiser, charity, or group collecting donations or other ways to help area restaurants? Send Eater Atlanta the details via the tipline for consideration. This list will be updated.